1. Bilderberg Bop 2. O.W.N Us 3. Fundamentalist Fashions for the Spring Formal 4. Don't Panic, I'm Islamic 5. Shadowed In Grey

Leap for Lenin with their EP .No Salt For Fascists. sounds silly just by looking at the cover art and glancing over the song titles. When you take a listen to the songs, you know you were right about the songs being silly, but it's a fun CD to have a good time with. In terms of the style of music and talent, they far surpass many of the bands you're used to hearing with their sounds of sophisticated punk rock coming out of the speakers. My personal favorite is .Don't Panic, I'm Islamic. because it starts off with a unique super distorted guitar riff that I've never heard before and is just an all around well composed song.

The lyrics of the songs are a totally different story however. You would never expect such poetry and talk about politics going along with a sophisticated punk rock melody. If the lyrics were the only thing you read and you didn't bother to take a look at the song titles or the cover art for who knows what reason, you would think that this was going to sound like your typical angry political punk rock band. This is definitely not the case. Overall, I think this is one of those albums where you need to keep handy just in case you need an uplifting song to listen to because you were angry about something, but not the angry mood where you need to go grab something and throw it across the room. Or maybe you need it because you need to be entertained!

1. We Represent 2. D.T.T.R. 3. World Won't Wait 4. Fool Me Twice 5. Combat Crisis 6. Your Life 7. Listen Up! 8. 40 CCs 9. Not Afraid 10. Misled 11. Face The Crowd 12. Out Of Luck 13. Nothing To Lose

Combat Crisis's album Face The Crowd is one of those highly energetic street punk kind of albums. You've got your typical street punk kind of lyrics mixed with some powerful and shouty vocals. The vocals are then mixed with a punk attack style of drumming and simple but at times, sophisticated guitar techniques. The thing that caught my attention is the way the instruments are mixed together. The music is mixed in a way in which all the instruments are clearly heard and seem to write lyrics of their own. The vocals flow with the music like they were meant for each other and reminds me of bands such as A Global Threat and The Unseen. If I were to compare the style of vocals and music with other well know bands, I would have to say they are a bit tamer than the Unseen and the Casualties, but shoutier and faster than Lower Class Brats and Monster Squad. If you're looking for a new and unique complex sounding kind of street punk, this one is the one.

Tora! Tora! Tora!, not to be mistaken with the movie, is a band I think has lived up to their name for being unpredictable and not afraid to explore new ways of making music. When I first saw them live at an all ages show and first heard their music, they could have fooled me for being a punk band, but after doing an interview with them and listening to their latest version of "Mystery", I was surprised at how far they've matured in their music making talent. The new recording of "Mystery" doesn't have that slow, soft intro which makes the whole song experience more upbeat and energetic than the previous version. Their newest song "Dead By Dawn" charters new waters of the music universe by introducing sophisticated solos to the classic hardcore punk rock sound which doesn't make it sound like anything that I've heard. The easiest way to describe that song would be it sounds like hardcore punk, punk rock, rock, pop, and metal at the same time, but in an organized medley that you can rock out to.

The title 21st Century Punk Rock, Vol. 1 sounds all-encompassing, as though it's an encyclopedia of all things punk. However, this DVD focuses only on a small group of punk rock bands, from old-schoolers Shattered Faith to young upstarts like Homesick Abortions. Filmed on location in Southern California on an extremely low to nonexistent budget, 21st Century provides an inside look into the epicenter of a musical genre that has morphed from an underground life form to a homogenized mainstream force. In the opening snippet, Leo from the band Terezodu addresses this subject, noting that punk rock is now embraced by the masses and that even porn stars have Mohawks. "We've got to make people fear us again," he says.

The interviews and clips that follow present bands, managers, fans and even a soundman who bear no resemblance to the cover girl and cover boy version of punk rock we see everyday in magazines and at fashion shows. From the Voids doing "L.A.P.D." to the Krum Bums, Casualties, and Lower Class Brats, the punk here is fast 'n rough and bears no resemblance to the cleaned-up pop punk of oh, say, New Found Glory. The bands represented are the descendents of the first wave of LA punk, i.e. the Germs, X, the Bags, and so forth. During one clip, you can almost smell the sweat and pot smoke as a promoter admonishes a bunch of unruly fans for fighting during a set. True punk rock minus the embellishments still exists in the States--mostly in Southern California, for some cultural and ideological reason. 21st Century Punk Rock, Vol. 1 provides a "slice of life" look into this scene.

1) Harijan - Portland Street 2) Harijan - Hallux Valgus 3) Harijan - The Bees N E's 4) John Player Specials - Weak In Your Eyes 5) John Player Specials - When All Is Said And Done 6) John Player Specials - Renegade

This cd has a killer mix of ska, reggae, punk, and metal. It starts off strong with Harijan's Portland Street and ends with a catchy tune by The John Player Special's Renegade. It's very rare that I come across songs that span multiple genres of music that actually sound decent and all the songs on this cd rock. My favorites from each artist on this cd are the first and last tracks. The first one is great because it starts off with a hardcore punkish/metalish like intro with harsh vocals and then blasts off into some exotic mix of reggae, ska, and punk. The end result is a special blend which is soothing and relaxing to the ears. The last track, Renegade, by the John Player Specials leaves you feeling good with it's catchy melody and fun vocals. Definately have to check out this cd if you need some excitement in your life!

This song is one of those amazing songs that you hear once and it takes you by surprise. The melodies ring out in such a way that it gives emotion to the song and the lyrics bring out the emotions that the melody is trying to create. It is musically sophisticated and will make you feel good and sad at the same time.

Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer By Chris Salewicz Faber & Faber 627 pages

This 627 page book a daunting undertaking but is actually an easy read if you have the time to get through it. Author Chris Salewicz, a friend of Strummer's, wrote Joe's obituary for The Independent, and spent the next few years writing and researching Redemption Song. The book answers lots of questions about him and humanizes a complex man Certain punk legends like John Lydon, Debbie Harry, Patti Smith , Joey Ramone, et al, could be encapsulated in a phrase or blurb. One could sum up their personas as combative, ice queen, poet, heroic misfit, and so on. Despite all the information in Redemption Song, Strummer still remains somewhat of an enigma, so it's hard to pinpoint a phrase to describe him even after finishing this hefty bio. We learn that that his father was a diplomat and the family lived in several different countries, including Egypt, and that his brother committed suicide as a teen-ager and Joe found his body. There are lots of anecdotes to pique the memories of older punk fans (Paul Simonon was married to Pearl Harbor of & Explosions fame, for example.) There's a pic of a crude drawing of a chord chart Joe used when he first learned to play the guitar, an account of the first time he saw the Pistols play at the Nashville. (They opened for the 101ers.) And there's pesky Clash manager Bernie Rhodes, alternatively guiding the band and undermining them. There's no strategically placed denouncement or rush to christen Strummer with a label. Written by a friend without an agenda, the book is void of pretension.

Redemption Song, along with the Julien Temple documentary The Future Is Unwritten, gives us an incredible amount of material on Stummer's life. Redemption Song draws a picture of a complicated man, neither cartoon or tragic figure, who just happened to be one of the icons of the punk rock era.

1. The Brutal Truth (Intro) 1:21 2. Such Tragedy 2:18 3. At Point Break 1:56 4. Right Before Your Eyes 2:09 5. Torn and Shattered (Nothing Left) 2:45 6. Break Away 2:14 7. Let It Go 2:40 8. No Direction 2:55 9. In Your Place 2:49 10. Left For Dead 2:35 11. Step Inside Take Your Life 1:28 12. Act the Part 2:38 13. Talking Bombs 2:38

It's hard to be a streetpunk band for more than a few years, hell, a few months, without delving into the cliché bag of fist-pimping tricks. But Boston hardcore band The Unseen manage to sound fresh without wavering from their initial sound on their second release for Hellcat, Internal Salvation. Despite being around since 1993, Mark Unseen & company have retained their signature seething anger, political themes and shotgun fast guitars and haven?t succumbed to the Hot Topic punk trends or mellowed with age. This is good news for fans who like hardcore punk with a dash of Slayer/Pantera metal lingering in the background.

Internal Salvation's CD cover might be a little confusing if you?re not familiar with the band or their other releases. With a cover pic of a skeletal statue of an angel colored with dripping mascara and drops of blood, this could be a death metal CD. But when you open up the CD and look at the band's picture, you breathe a sigh of relief. Not a pentagram in sight.Thankfully, it's East Coast hardcore all the way, in the vein of Sick of It All, Murphy's Law, and label mates Dropkick Murphys.

The CD intro Brutal Truth begins with Goth church organ and segues into hardcore-enhanced layering of broadcast news sound bites. Such Tragedy assaults the senses with its throat bursting vocals and features catchy riffing underneath its furious front layer. It may take a few listens to hear this.

A melodic background riff provides counterpoint to the guitar and drum rampage on At Point Break. Subtle musical inflections dot the songs on Internal Salvation and prevent the tracks from bleeding into one another. Left for Dead weaves in and out of the hardcore pace of the other cuts, while Step Inside..Take Your Life runs with it.

Internal Salvation may not have the Oi! influences of Lower Class Crucifixion or the lightning-fast assault of Explode, but it stays true to the band's hardcore roots with enough well-placed musical disparities to keep things interesting.

Hellcat Records
The Unseen/MySpace

1. Domestos & Drugs 2. Friday Night 3. Make It Count 4. Mr Know It All 5. Police Informer 6. Its Only Punk Rock 7. Thassa Rumun 8. Sick & Tired 9. Yob.

This 9 track cd is from a Norfolk band that sound like they are on a major label(or should be). Self released, well recorded this cd does them justice. Track 1 Domestos & Drugs, is a great punk opener, then Friday Night track 2, about getting pissed and being sick and making a fool of yourself, they do have an edge over a lot of punk bands, first of all they can play and you can understand what they sing about, they do have a very close rock edge to thier music, which shows on tracks 3 Make It Count and 4 Mr Know It All. The great guitar in track 5 Police Informer shows us all how good this band are, 6 Its Only Punk Rock what a classic song, track 7 is fast and hard and track 8 is a jumpy catchy punk tune.This band should be on a lable.They are jumpy, lively,loud,noisy, fast and Ugly (joke). Punk at it's best, seen them once they were great. Track 9 Yob finishes off the cd nicely, a song about the way they look and dress, being associated as yobs. This band need to be signed. Look for The Hotwired interview next issue.

1. No Heart No Pride 2. Next Generation (Of 77) 3. Digging Your Own Grave 4. In The Red 5. (I've Had) Better Days 6. March On 7. Belligerent 8. Violent Youth 9. Wasted Life 10. Lawless Streets 11. No Tomorrow 12. Hangover 13. Hangover Outro

This cd is awesome. It sounds like Vice Squad, but louder and faster. Has a lot of good fist raising choruses and would make great fighting music. The lyrics to the songs also give a good sense of anger and fighting. This cd would make a great pre-show energizer.